The Gift
by xfilegrl
Summary: After Mulder's funeral, Scully sets out to clean out his apartment. A little angsty...I know.


**Disclaimer: If you can catch me, I own nothing. If you can't catch me, then I own everything.**

**a/n: so, I have to tell you that this little idea has been in the noggin for a while and as I was walking around the mall, the poetic mind started flowing and that's how the first paragraph came to be. Yes, I have random moments of bliss, epiphanies and inspiration. It is actually quite amazing to witness! Lol. Anway…**

**Dedication: To Julia, because she thinks this might make her cry, but I told her it won't and she says the first paragraph needs bongo drums, someone dressed in all black and snaps! Also to Kirsty, because she is an amazing beta who makes me laugh when we talk about trying to find motivation.**

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**The Gift**

She is but one soul, searching for another. A heart, which has been broken, longing to hold him again, love him again. She traces the memories of a black and white photo sitting on his coffee table. She's constantly searching, for a truth, a dream. A longing of her heart, a heart which belongs to him. She never realized what he meant to her until he was gone. Never understood what her life would be like without him.

Too many nights she has found herself at his apartment. This night is different though. She holds back the tears as she places the photo into a box sat on the couch.

When he first disappeared, she paid for 6 months of his rent. Now that she has buried him, she can't bring herself to clean his apartment out completely. Part of her still holds onto that hope that one day soon, he will come walking through his door and tell her that this is one big joke. Laugh about how he finally has one-up on her again. In her head, she knows that won't happen. Yet in her heart, she wants to believe.

She leaves all the big things, the TV, the coffee table, his desk and the couch. The couch which holds so many memories for her. Nights filled with passion, pain, but most importantly love. God, she misses him.

When she moves to the bedroom, her mind is flooded with even greater memories than the couch. Visions of a trail of clothes, tangled sheets, tangled limbs, heavy breaths and whispered words of the future. Promises that were made, that now will never happen. She's brought back to the here and now by the sound of her cell phone ringing.

"Scully" she says, trying not to let it show that she's been crying.

"Dana, it's mom." Of course it is, ever since the funeral, everyone has been watching her like a hawk. "Where are you?"

She doesn't want to lie, but she doesn't want to tell her the truth either. She's sick of hearing everyone's concerns, everyone's worries. "I'm out right now."

"Out?" She can tell that her mom already knows where she is. "You aren't at Fox's again are you?"

"Mom, please, I really don't feel like talking about this. You knew where I was before you called. I have to clean out this place. No one else will do it."

"Don't you think that it's a little too soon, Dana?"

"No, and if I were to think of it like that, then this would never get done. Listen, I'll call you when I get back to my apartment, okay?"

Mrs. Scully sighs on the other end of the phone, knowing that it is pointless to argue with her daughter about this. "Okay, but don't wear yourself out, Dana. I love you."

"I love you, too." She ends the call before her mother is able to say anything else about where she is. She heads over to the bed and pulls out the boxes underneath. Deciding to start with anything that can be thrown away. She finds his box of tapes that are not his and decides that they can go into the Frohike pile she has already started.

Everything else underneath the bed is paperwork, case files that he never filed back into the office, information about his parents' death, estates, stocks and bonds, paperwork from his lawyer. As she starts on the third box she pulls out a manila folder and begins to read through the paperwork inside. As she gets further into the first paragraph she realizes that this is his last will & testament. She searches the page for a date and her heart nearly falls out of her chest when she sees that it was updated a week before he disappeared. A week before her life fell apart.

Everything has been left to her. Everything within his apartment, his life savings, his inheritance, his parents' estate and all of their valuables. At the bottom of the page it has a lump sum. An audible gasp escapes her lips when she sees the figure. Over 15 million dollars, enough to keep her and their unborn child secure for the rest of their lives.

She knew that Mulder had money, the trip to Antarctica and back proved that. They never talked about how much he had, but with the expensive dinners and how often he tried to spoil her, she knew it was a lot. She puts the papers back into the folder and tucks them under her arm as she gets up from the ground.

After securely putting the folder into her briefcase, she gets a glass of water and heads back to the bedroom. She decides to save the last box under the bed for later. Unsure if she will be able to handle the rest of the contents that are in it. She opens up the drawer in his nightstand and starts to pull out everything inside of it. She hates going through his things. Even though she knows that he is buried, she still feels as if she is invading his privacy in some way.

She picks up a folded piece of paper and opens it. It looks like some sort of reservation, scribbled in his handwriting. The date is for August 29th, 2000, a week after he disappeared. She smiles weakly as she realizes that everything was around the time of his disappearance.

She reaches into the drawer a little further and feels her hand hit something square. She pulls out the famous blue box and tears start to form in her eyes. By the time she has the box open and is pulling out the black velvet box her tears are now flowing from her eyes. She opens it with shaky hands and she can't believe her eyes.

"Oh, Mulder" she says barely above a whisper.

It's a cushioned cut Tiffany diamond surrounded by bead-set diamonds along the top and sides of the bands. By the size of the top diamond, she's guessing it's at least 2 carats.

She holds it closely to see how many diamonds exactly are on the whole thing. She realizes that there is an inscription on the inside.

_Don't Give Up_

She can't help the impulse that she has to put it on, so she does. It slips easily onto her left finger and she holds it up to the light. She realizes that she's still crying as she watches the diamonds reflect the light perfectly. Everything seems to be making sense to her now, the will, the reservation. He wanted to make things legal before he died, wanted to make sure that when he left her, she would never have to worry about anything again.

She walks to the window and opens the blinds to look out into the night sky. Her mind once again drifts back to their discussion about starlight. "You always did put me before yourself, Mulder." She says as she places her left hand on the glass.

"I love you, forever and for always, Mulder. No one but you."

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**Hope the ending wasn't too cheesy. Yes, that is a real ring…it's a Tiffany's engagement ring that I want…but it's a little out of the budget…maybe when I make it to the big screen? Oh, and Mulder is rich…I think we all know this…how rich though is a very good question. I bet that it is probably more than what I put on here!**

**Please Review!**

**xXx K xXx**


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